Premonitions
by All Alone in the Rain
Summary: A what if? story. Loki always knew what he was. Now all he has to find is a woman who accepts him. He finds Jane. Good thing he's watched her all her life.
1. Chapter 1

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of characters, events, or settings used within.

Chapter One:

Discussions

* * *

><p>Frigga was making good time down the golden hallway. Her stride was longer than usual, conveying a sense of urgency not commonly found in the queen of Asgard. She paused but a moment outside of the bedchambers she shared with her husband before walking in with her head proudly tilted up.<p>

"Odin, my husband, I must speak with you." Her dulcet tones echoed in the vast room. "Yes, Frigga?" Odin sighed as he rose from his seat, a king never rests. "I am disturbed." Odin's eye sharpened upon her, moving over his wife as if he could discern what troubled her by sight alone. "What has occurred?" He asked sharply.

Frigga glanced down before swallowing quickly and lacing her fingers together revealing the extent of her nervousness. "Perhaps, you should sit," She began and Odin obeyed his wife quickly, "Today I was in the gardens with Thor and Loki. They were running and playing as children are oft wont to do. While they were playing Thor knocked Loki down, boys being boys."

"Yes, yes." Odin interrupted impatiently.

Frigga glared sharply at her husband. "However, Loki was not expecting to be pushed like that. Thor has gotten more. . . let us say enthusiastic since his birthday. He pushed Loki with greater force than was necessary and when Loki hit the ground, he froze it."

"Froze it!" Odin interrupted again. "How? We have kept that part of him hidden! It should not have shown itself!" Odin stood and walked away from Frigga to stand in front of the wide window. His troubled eye gazed upon the golden city without truly seeing the splendor that was Asgard.

"The issue," Frigga spoke as she moved behind Odin, laying her hand upon his shoulder, "Is that we have hidden it from him. He should have known what he truly was and what he truly is to _us_ from the start. We have committed a grave offense against our dear son. We need to tell him the truth."

"Tell him what? The his whole five years here have all been lies we perpetrated? That he is not an Asgardian but a Frost Giant? That he was abandoned, an unwanted waif in a decrepit temple? That everything we have ever told him, all of his beliefs are lies? You would have me destroy all that he is?" Odin thundered jerking away from Frigga and stalking across the room.

"I expect you to tell the truth, to tear down his misconceptions and to build him up again, aware of all that he is and open to all that he could become. I want him to know that what he was born as does not have to control what he will be. In truth all I want him to gather is that he is and always will be my son!" Frigga finished, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"I cannot. I will not." Odin finished sitting back down upon his chair.

"Then I shall." Frigga moved to the door but again paused before she left. "I am the only mother he has ever known. It was your duty to reveal this to him but you refuse. It was your duty to protect him from harm but you refuse. My snowflake was so scared today. I am his mother and I shall pick up the duties his father abandoned. I will protect him from the world, his father, and if need be, himself. And you dear husband cannot stop _me_."

Odin watched with a weary eye as his wife left to change his world.


	2. Chapter 2

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of any characters, events, settings, etc. used.

Chapter Two:

Revelations

* * *

><p>Dusk was falling upon Asgard. A small boy was sitting in the sill of a window watching as the gulls called to their respective families.<p>

The boy was exceedingly pale, an oddity among the golden bodies of his peers. He had dark hair, blacker than a raven's wing, swept back from his face to curl around his nape. His deep green eyes glimmered with repressed tears, another oddity to cause the child to be shunned, what Asgardian had eyes not black or blue? He was dressed royally, as befitting a child of his station, in emerald and black, an unconscious decision to showcase his differences or a deliberate incentive?

This was the image that Frigga, lady of Asgard, came upon.

"Loki." The word fell unbidden from her lips in the form of a weary sigh, exceedingly soft but still overheard by the child.

The child turned his head sharply toward her before a soft half smile took his lips. "Mother! I am sorry, I did not see you." Loki got up as quickly as his gangly five year old body would allow. He rushed over to her and stopped when he could take her hand. "Well, mother, did father know anything that could help me?"

Frigga looked down at her son's expectant face. She saw his hopes and dreams and thought on Odin's reasoning. Should she truly tell her child that he was not of her body? That he came from a race that her husband already had him fearing?

A gentle tug brought Frigga back to reality and her son. She gazed down and saw expectancy replaced with worry. Conviction grew within her chest. Loki would be told the truth. Loki would know the means of his birth and of his coming to Asgard.

"Loki, please my son, come with me." Loki looked excited at the prospect of walking with his mother. "Where are we going? Is father going to tell me what happened to me?" His face began to shine with more hope and Frigga's heart fell to know that she would be the one to disillusion him.

"My boy come, let us walk." Frigga began to lead Loki through the rooms of the palace. They passed the throne room, the reception hall with its golden pillars and imposing door, pass the many rooms reserved for servants until they reached a small courtyard.

Inside the courtyard was a gnarled mass of bushes. It gave the appearance of disrepair and neglect. In front of the mess was an intricately carved stone bench. It was small but could still easily fit mother and son as they sat.

"Why are we here? It is ugly!" Loki spoke with the surety of a child. Frigga smiled gently.

"Is it truly ugly? I had not noticed." Frigga chuckled as Loki looked at her with his brows drawn down. "How can it be anything but ugly? It is dead, nothing is alive in that mass of weeds. It should be cleaned out!"

"Before you cast judgments maybe you should learn the whole story." Frigga began. "Those _weeds_ come from Midgard. A high lady of court fell in love with a man of a lower station. The maiden knew she could never tell the man or revel in the feeling of love so every night she would go into the garden and weep. Eventually a plant began to grow watered by her bitter tears, twisted and gnarled. It continued to grow this way until the maiden's death many moons later. The night of her death that ugly, twisted mess blossomed with thousands of tear shapes flowers."

"Mother, what was the point?" Loki asked impatient and wriggling in his seat.

"The point, dear heart, was that looks are deceiving. You cannot judge someone or something based upon its appearance or even in some cases heritage."

"Where did the bush come from?" Loki was staring with a look of contemplation toward the bushes.

"Egypt. The odd thing is that it grows perfectly in our moist ground as it did in the arid sands of their desert."

"So why have you brought me here to talk?" Frigga watched as her son's eyes grew wary. "How does this setting pertain to our earlier discussion of answers?"

Frigga sighed heavily, knowing that her son had fallen back upon his intelligence to hide his fear. As a defense mechanism it was better than his brother's who would just attack unsuspecting victims.

"I am certain you remember the tales your father has told you about our war with Jotunheim and the Frost Giants. You were told that you were born during the final days of this war. This is true, however, my son, it is not the whole story. . ."

As mother and son spoke, despaired, reconciled and reaffirmed neither noticed a small bud forming in front of them. As they left, reborn in the flames of truth and acceptance like proverbial phoenixes, again the pair ignored the haunting sounds of ghostly wailing.

And when all of the city of Asgard was asleep, rain fell. It only fell in one place, in the royal palace, in an abandoned courtyard that had a single stone bench, which was pass the servants' quarters, pass the reception hall with its golden pillars and imposing door, pass the throne room and pass the ability of any mortal to reach.


	3. Chapter 3

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of any characters, events, settings, etc. that may resemble real life.

Chapter Three:

Worry

Odin stood with his back facing the door in the opulent throne room. The Allfather was once again observing his entire golden city.

The sound of a door unlatching caught his attention.

"Thor, why are you here?" Odin asked as he turned around.

Odin's son was the epitome of a perfect Asgardian child. He had golden hair that curled any way it chose, piercing blue eyes and was as golden skinned as they could come.

He was dressed in a flowing scarlet shirt that was tucked into light tan pants. The boy was, however, barefoot once again.

"There is something wrong."

Thor spoke unnecessarily loud with his hands on his waist attempting to look imposing with his eight year old frame.

"What is wrong?" Odin asked, eyebrow arched and moving away from the window.

"Loki."

The eyebrow slammed back into its proper position.

"What do you think is wrong with your brother?" The tone was curt and bitter.

Thor took a moment, swallowing quickly before responding.

"He is distant."

"Oh?" The king moved closer to his son moved by the utter desolation in his voice.

"How is that odd? Loki is often distant, distracted by his thoughts and schemes." He laid a strong hand on his son's shoulder leaning in and bumping his forehead gently against his son's.

Thor leaned back slightly before his mouth twisted up and he raised his voice, "But it is different! He has not called me brother for a fortnight! He does not eat or sleep! _He does not call me brother!_ What has happened?!"

The demand echoed throughout the room, reverberating in the bones of the two inhabitants. Thor was panting, his fists clenched impotently at his side, his face flushed and unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

Odin stepped back and removed his hand from Thor's shoulder.

"Who are you, my son, to demand answers from me?" The Allfather asked not unkindly. "I have not talked to Loki for nigh on sixteen days."

"Then you cannot fix this?" The disbelief in the young boy's voice was almost as powerful as his despondent shout.

"Contrary to popular belief, I cannot solve every problem or disagreement that comes before me." Odin's tone was still gentle and soothing.

"But you are king! The Allfather! You know _everything_!" Thor's face was scrunched up in confusion.

"I know events, I do not know hearts. I cannot order a person to no longer hate, or to suddenly love another. Hearts and mind are independent and as such they are an area in which I have no power over."

"Then how am I to fix this?" The confusion disappeared from Thor's face as a frustrated anger clouded his golden visage.

Odin looked down at his son and took a step back, turning to the side and breaking eye contact.

"Could you show it first?" He asked looking at the golden embellishments near the beginning of the support columns.

"Show what?" Thor questioned swiftly.

Odin looked back at his son, focusing with his steely blue eye.

"Show that you are his brother no matter what. Could you be the snowflake that starts the avalanche? Loki stands facing something that I have never faced, that I do not know. If he has distanced himself it is because he is at a crucible and he cannot find the light in his endless night."

Anger faded from Thor's face as a look of contemplation knitted his golden brows together.

"How do you know his is facing a problem like that?"

Odin's mouth twisted into a wry grin as he turned away from his son completely and returned to his watching place at the window.

"I know because I have faced a challenge like this before, eight years ago as a matter of fact. It was not of the magnitude that Loki faces now but it was not insignificant. And when it was occurring all I could think was how much of a mistake I was making. Yet, I made it. It now does not seem as large a mistake as it did then"

Odin tilted his head to glance at his son.

"And you? Could you stand by Loki, even if he was not an Asgardian? What if he was a Frost Giant? A human? Is it possible that he has looked at his fellows and realized that he is so inherently different that the only logical conclusion left for him to think is that he is lacking? That this lack means that he is no child of Asgard?"

"Is that all?"

Odin turned surprised at the question.

"Is that not enough?" He asked with disbelief.

The brilliantly relieved smile that Thor flashed him was blinding.

"This is simple! Loki is my brother, nothing could change that! Not if he was a Frost Giant, a Dark Elf, a human, or a horse! I will simply convince him of that!"

Thor turned around and ran out of the room, not saying anything to his father, youthful purpose suffusing his body.

Odin watched him wearily, before looking down upon his city again, eyes ancient and filled with guilt.

"It is more than I can do."

The slam of the door echoed quietly in the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of said characters or events that are similar to real life.

Chapter Four:

Weight

Frigga sat pensively contemplating the future while she stared at her youngest child.

A thousand options flew through her mind at lightening speed, each different future changed by any and all miniscule decision.

All of the futures she saw however centered on her sons.

_Loki murdered on the floor of the throne room. _

_Thor and Loki, no longer children but men, beautiful and strong men, locked in a duel to the death as a red figure flies in the distance. _

The weight of all these possibilities burdened the queen of Asgard's mind heavily.

She had always seen these visions but she had never shared them or actively participated in changing them.

For who was she to argue with the plans of the fates? 

_Thor fighting side by side, in a city of towering glass against an army of monstrous creatures, with a green behemoth. _

_Loki crying in anguish as he falls into a lightless void. _

Yes, Frigga had never thought to tamper with fate.

But it was clear that she was going to begin now.

Fate had never threatened her children before and she would be damned if what she saw came to pass.

_Thor and Loki traveling with a group of four through a frozen wasteland._

_Loki screaming and bleeding in a cell of Asgard's prison. _

_Thor looking upon his brother with both disappointment and distrust. _

Frigga had never actively tried to see the visions of the future.

It was always just something that occurred, hanging off the periphery of her mind like a constant low pitched hum.

Now, she would force them to occur.

She braced her hands on the arms of her seat and leaned her head back as she closed her eyes.

Visions passed through her mind so fast they appeared only as swift flashes of colorful lights.

The hum grew higher and higher in pitch until it was a constant ear-piercing scream.

Frigga's fingers unconsciously clenched the chair's armrests, getting tighter and tighter until the wood began to crack.

Her brow furrowed deeply and her mouth fell open in a wordless gasp of pain.

_Do me a favor and don't be dead._

Frigga suddenly felt like she was moving through a thick fog.

_Where did he come from? _

Which he was it? Who was the woman speaking?

Wracking her brain, Frigga could not place the voice.

_A dry wasteland lit only by a large round moon. A circular storm forming out of nowhere and depositing Thor harshly. A metal monster hitting him as it careened through the sand. _

"Mother? Are you alright?"

"_Magic isn't real. It can't be. All things can be tested and proven, given time."_

"_Really?"_

_A sly voice asked before a pale hand lifted and a diorama of colored orbs danced around his fingertips. _

"_That's amazing!"_

_A small tan hand reaches up and delicately but warmly cups the man's hand. His thumb reaches down to stroke along the back of her fingers. _

Loki. That hand must belong to Loki. He is the only one who has that pale skin and magical abilities.

"_Lady Jane Foster,"_

_A deep voice mumbled. _

"_I will return for you. I promise. But now I must return to Asgard to stop Loki."_

"Mother! Mother! Why are you bleeding!"

'Just once. I will interfere just this once.'

"_Loki?" _

_A small woman stood before Frigga's eyes looking up. _

_She was dressed in gold and warm brown. _

'A maiden of autumn?'

"_I'm human."_

_A resigned smile twisted her lips. _

"_You always knew that I would die before you. We have always known this."_

_Her bright eyes filled with shimmering tears that began to escape one after the other. _

"_Just don't forget me would you?"_

_A deep red light pulsed in the center of her chest before tendrils spread out following the course of her veins. _

_She fell gasping for breath, landing harshly on her back, spine arching and fingers clenching spasmodically. _

"_Jane! Jane!"_

_Loki ran forward entering Frigga's frame of focus. _

_He fell to his knees besides her. _

_He reached over and gently picked her up, brining her body closer to his own chest. _

"_Jane! Jane!"_

_Loki emphatically whispered as he tilted his head down far enough to rest his lips on the crown of Jane's head. _

"_Jane! Please! I just needed more time! Just a little more time! Jane!"_

_Her son's screams grew feverish, desperate cries for recognition. _

_Frigga watched as Jane's body turned dark blue. Her eyes were open widely and glassy. Her lips were the color of ice. No breath stirred her chest. _

_Frigga flinched as her son screamed over and over again. _

"Mother!"

Frigga blinked and squinted as she raised her head in the bright sunroom.

"Mother! Mother! Please! Wake up!What do I do? What do I do?"

Frigga slowly blinked again and raised a hand to her temple as her entire upper was shaken roughly.

"Loki love?"

Her brow furrowed as she moved the hand from her temple to cup her son's tear stained face.

"What is wrong snowflake?"

She scanned the room, looking for anything that could have hurt her son, body tense and the fingers of her other hand caressing the hilt of her hidden knife.

Loki's face twisted in pained relief as both of his small pale hands reached up to force his mother's hand to remain on his cheek.

"Oh, darling."

Frigga opened her arms and pulled Loki onto her lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"What were you doing? It hurt you. . ."

Frigga frowned then felt all of the blood that was drying on her face and clothes causing it to feel thick and tacky.

"I searched too hard."

Loki turned questioning eyes onto her before putting his head down upon her blood stained shoulder.

"What?"

Loki sniffled.

"I hurt myself because I searched too hard. I was finding the future."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"I looked into a void. The future is not set in stone. It ebbs and flows like an ocean never stopping, always moving. The course of the future can change in a blink of an eye, like a cliff face crashing to the depths below, causing a tsunami that was not there before."

"So we live one version constantly because it was formed by the waves of another rock?"

"Essentially."

Frigga smiled, delighted at the quick thinking mind of her youngest son.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to find a way for everything to be set right."

"Is it?"

Frigga looked down into her son's innocent emerald eyes and smiled.

"It will be. I will make it."

Loki grinned back at his mother accepting what she said with no questions.

'Yes I will make it right. I will change the future, just this once, for my son of ice. Thor will always survive. I will ensure Loki thrives. Even if I have to force a golden apple down this Jane Foster's throat.'

The lady of Asgard sat in a broken wooden chair covered from nose to waist in blood, pale as a ghost, rocking the youngest prince, smiling peacefully.

"Come little love, time to eat."


	5. Chapter 5

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of characters, events and settings resembling the comics or movies used within.

A/N: We're jumping in time a wee bit. Just so you are not so confused, the next chapter goes back to Thor and Loki's childhood.

Chapter Five:

Stargazing

It's cold in the desert at night.

An interesting dichotomy when compared to the parched, arid heat of the days.

Nights are freezing.

No one should be out in the desert at night, just on principle.

A child should not be alone anywhere. A child should definitely not be alone in the treacherous desert.

But that was exactly where Jane Foster was at this point in time.

She was only an eight year old and her mother had warned her to never go out after dark alone but she had to leave the house for a little while.

Her mother and father were yelling at each other again.

It began when they were talking about where she would go again.

Mr. Erik Selvig said that her parents were "going different directions" and they couldn't be together anymore.

It confused Jane a little but she thought she understood a bit.

Her mother and father did very different things.

Her mother was a business woman. Jane didn't know what kind but her mother left early in the morning after kissing her head goodbye.

Her father worked as the head mechanic at the auto shop that was in town. He had recently been offered a partnership at a new garage in Puente Antiguo.

Mr. Selvig was a childhood friend of Jane's father. They had met while they were youths and her father had lived with his military family at an army base in Sweden. They had lived there for four years before coming back stateside but somehow Selvig and the Fosters kept in touch.

Jane really liked Mr. Selvig. He was like an uncle to her and her father did say that he was her godfather.

"_I never wanted a child to start with! You did!"_

Jane flinched, her limbs shrinking into herself, and began to cry.

She wasn't wanted. The tears began to fall swiftly landing on Jane's clothes and hands but she made no noise.

Her shoulders shook violently as her mouth was open in silent scream as small hitching breaths wracked her chest.

"M. . . m. . . mamma."

It was stuttered out, an almost inaudible cry as Jane lowered her head to her chest.

The wind began to kick up, whipping her long chocolate hair around her head. A brilliant flash of lightning startled her enough to raise her head.

Jane watched as clouds formed and circled thickly above her.

Her small body began to shiver, the chill of the air combined with the wind and the electricity of a storm caused her to imagine that the desert had turned into a world made of ice.

The sand flew in all direction, stinging her eyes and blinding her momentarily.

The tear tracts on her face became gritty as the sand adhered to them and the wind whisked the moisture from her face.

A fantastically bright prism of rainbow colored light was hardly discernible to Jane through her watery eyes.

It touched the Earth and just as quickly as it had blown in the storm was gone. The desert was left empty, a feeling of bereavement echoing in the vast caverns.

Jane stood up and raised both of her hands up to rub at her eyes blocking her vision but getting the sand out of them.

Her breath stuttered in and out in sharp, little silent gasps.

"Hello child."

A calm soothing voice spoke softly in front of Jane.

Jane gasped, stumbling back as she blinked rapidly to clear her eyes of the last of the sand.

Standing in front of her was a woman clad in a golden chest plate and a blue dress. The dress was split into two sections high on her thighs showing white pants underneath with supple light brown boots connected to golden knee guards. Her arms were bare except for golden vambraces. She wore no jewelry except a thick braided torque around her neck. She carried a short sword attached to a tooled leather belt inside a black scabbard.

The woman was tan, but it was smooth and even in color, no lines or darker areas like Jane's mother. Her hair was swept up and away from her face in intricate braids. Her eyes were a sharp, cutting blue but her mouth was soft and kind.

"Who are you?"

Jane asked timidly, her hands moving to play with the hem of her nightshirt.

"I am Frigga, queen of Asgard, daughter of the Vanir, guardian of Valhalla and the greatest seer of the nine realms. And you child? Who are you?"

"Jane. . Jane Foster of here. . and nothing else."

Jane glanced down and swept her long unruly hair behind her ears before quickly looking up again.

"Nothing else?"

Frigga smirked softly.

"There are many titles you have yet to earn, little one."

Jane furrowed her brow slightly but accepted Frigga's words easily.

"Do you wanna sit down with me?"

Jane asked gesturing to the sandy ledge beside her.

Frigga smiled.

"Of course."

Jane plopped down quickly, bouncing as she landed on the pliable Earth. Frigga swept her dress around her legs before sitting down with much more grace and poise.

"Why are you outside on a night this cold child?"

"I'm waiting to hear where I go."

"Go?"

"_Well, I don't want her with me! It's too much responsibility! Why did we have a child to begin with?"_

Frigga glared over at the house, eyes shooting sparks as her hands clenched into tight fists of white hot rage.

"They don't want me."

Frigga stopped glaring at the house to glance at the small figure that gazed at the ground as if it could tell her the secret of the universe.

"I get it. I really do. I'm too much bother. I always have been. Mr. Erik says that it's a good thing, that I'm a genius. He likes it when I come over to visit because he can talk about his work and I get it. I don't know. I just can figure things out. But I don't like it."

"Why do you not like your ability?" Frigga's gaze penetrated into Jane's downturned head.

"What's the point if you can't tell anyone?"

Jane glanced up at Frigga but swiftly returned to staring at the ground after meeting her eyes. She twisted her fingers around the laces of her shoes. She pulled her shoes untied before retying and playing with the laces again. Her shoulders began to hitch up and down as loud hoarse gasps emerged from her small chest. She stopped playing with her shoelaces and moved her arms to hold her chest.

She jerked when two warm arms encircled her and brought her closer to a silk clothed body. Gentle humming filled the air as a hand stroked down Jane's hair. Jane snuggled closer as the rocking back and forth soothed her.

"I know someone you can tell you know."

Frigga continued to stroke Jane's hair as she spoke.

"His name is Loki. He's my son and he is one of the most intelligent among my people. I guarantee that he would be able to understand anything that you talked about. He and I have been watching over you for a long time. You're very important to us."

"How?"

Frigga looked down in askance.

"How am I important? I've never met you or anyone named Loki before."

"You remember that I mentioned being a seer, yes? Well, long ago I saw two paths. One led my son to destruction and the other led to peace. I have never truly interfered with the future, it is the choices of individuals to go where they will and I will not be a tyrant and deny them this choice. However, I refuse to allow my son to bring the evil that would be wrought from his choice. So I changed it. And you, dear Jane of Midgard, are involved with this choice."

"I'm important?"

"Yes, dear heart, you are very important. So, we have watched you to ensure that you have been safe."

"Both of you?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here and not him. Not that I'm upset or anything. You're wonderful."

Frigga smiled as she watched Jane attempt to rectify what she believed was an insult. A warm chuckle emerged from her lips and Jane became silent.

"I came because I can control my temper. He, unfortunately, has the worst temper known to man, creature, and God. What is happening here is a travesty that he would not be able to endure."

"It's not that bad tonight."

"It is inexcusable that parents are putting their children through this. It is their issues and problems, not yours. Blaming you as an excuse for their failings does neither of them any credit and it does you more harm than good. Your parents will regret what they say, whether by their own feelings or from others, there will be regret."

"Alright, if you say so. How. . how am I supposed to talk to him? Is he going to come here like you did?"

"Loki will not deign come down whilst your parents are here."

"Then how do I talk to him?"

"You call his name and then you talk."

"How do I know he's listening?"

"Look in any surface that is reflective. Loki has an affinity for things like mirrors. You call, he will appear. Then you can have your discussions."

"Will he always answer?"

"For you, he will answer anytime."

"Jane Foster! Where are you!?"

A loud cry echoed out into the desert.

"Daddy!"

Jane scrambled up, hastily brushing sand off of her clothes. She turned and began to run towards the small house before freezing. She turned around and ran back to Frigga collapsing before her and grabbing her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!" She whispered into the Asgardian queen's ear.

"I'll be sure to talk to him. I'll do it just like you said but I have to go now. Bye!"

Frigga watched as the girl ran towards a tall man who was enshrouded in light from the home's open door. When she got close enough the man grabbed her into a tight embrace, lifting her off of the ground and holding her to his chest.

"I told you not to come out here at night. There's rattlesnakes and coyotes and poisonous spiders and. ."

He continued to list every danger that Jane could have faced alone all while holding her with tense shaking hands.

"I was fine, daddy. I didn't go far. I was star gazing, look at them! They're so bright tonight!"

He looked up, tears beading in his tired eyes, at the millions of twinkling lights.

"Yeah baby, they're brilliant."

He turned them and walked into the house shutting the door behind him. Electricity sparked against the sky and a kaleidoscope of colors touched the Earth before disappearing as fast as they came.

"Welcome back, my queen."

Frigga nodded fondly at Heimdall, the gate guardian before moving past him to the man waiting with two horses.

"It is done. She is better."

She spoke stately, raising her hand to touch the man's cheek gently.

"They do not deserve her."

He hissed back with vehemence. Arms tense, eyes flashing, teeth grinding.

"Patience, my snowflake, patience. All things come to those who wait."

He helped her onto the waiting horse before leaping onto the back of his own. They turned their beasts towards the golden city and pounded off towards it.

_Umm, Loki? Loki. . . This is Jane Foster. I'm thinking about studying stars. _

A large grin upturned Loki's lips.


	6. Chapter 6

Premonitions

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of this publication nor do I claim any ownership of characters, events, and settings resembling the comics or movies used within.

A/N: Sorry for the long break between chapters. I am in a completely awful funk right now. Seriously, I will try to be better for you guys. You're all awesome. I love you. Have a wonderful day/night/time of day. Be good to yourselves and drink a glass of water. Stay safe. Yeah. All that jazz.

Chapter Six:

Firsts

There have been many firsts in the life of Thor, especially in regards to his brother Loki.

Thor first saw Loki when he was two. The memory is foggy, a common occurrence for memories over a thousand years old. It is more of a feeling than an image. There is only the impression of tiny hands creating warmth, and freezing frigid cold, around two of his fingers before the swift removal of the appendage. Thinking on the memory still gives Thor those same conflicting feelings: overwhelming warmth and spine chilling cold.

The first time Thor knew that there was something different about his younger brother was when he was seven. Thor was the epitome of what an Asgardian child should be: golden skinned, golden haired, blue eyed, and filled with indomitable spirit and strength. Loki, at the age of three, was not. However, Loki was special. When their parents were asleep Loki would have such awful nightmares.

Thor had been trained to know the sounds of his brother in distress. By the time he was three a single whimper out of his brother's room would wake him from dead sleep to rush to halt the coming onslaught. And as a child, he commonly could not, however, Loki grew up knowing that his brother's room was just across the hall and he did not mind being woken in the dead of night, unlike their father.

So when Loki woke him up one night, silently weeping, Thor did not question but simply scooted over and lifted the covers to his younger brother. The brothers lay down facing each other, Thor throwing his arm over his brother's shoulder so he could pat his head.

"What's wrong, little brother?"

"I had a bad dream."

"Yes," Thor gave a small smile towards his brother, "I thought as much. Tell me, Heimdall always says that dreams are more than they seem and talking helps. Let me help."

"I am in an icy dark. Mother is not there, nor father, nor you, only myself walking alone. I can see these eyes in the shadow, red eyes following me as I walk. I walk a long time before a monster steps out to me. He is huge, so much taller than father, and he is blue with pointed teeth and red eyes, red as the flowers mother had planted in the family garden last season. He gives me the same look as Sif does."

"What look?" Thor asked in confusion.

"Like they smelt something bad when I am near them."

"Sif does this!"

"Well. . . yes." Hesitation clouded Loki's voice.

"Ignore it. Sif's just a girl, not even a possible warrior, who cares what her nose does."

Thor knew enough about his brother to know that he was bothered by Sif's actions. A nobleman's daughter who was commonly in court Sif was another child that had the golden ideal of Asgard imprinted into her flesh.

"What happens next?" Thor questioned again.

"The monster speaks."

"Do you understand it?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"It says: 'I should have killed you myself, whelp.'"

Thor's arm tightens across his brother's shoulder dragging him closer and bringing his other arm over him to form a tight embrace.

"It did not happen. It will not happen. I am here. I will not let it."

"I. . I . . I look down." Loki sobbed. "At my hands. They're blue! I look just like the monster! Am I a monster? Am I like that thing?!"

"No. You are my brother. You are the son of Frigga and Odin, rulers of the immortal realm of Asgard. You are a noble prince of this realm. Nothing can take that away from you. It is who you are. Now sleep, little brother, I will stand guard, nothing can touch you now."

He did not tell his brother or their family how when a nightmare began Loki's skin turned cool, cooler than usual. Nor did he mention the faint lines that formed along his body.

Thor killed his first man at the age of eighteen.

There was no battle, no war, just a dagger hovering over his ill brother in the middle of the night. Thor would have never known about the assassin if he had not been overeager to show his brother his new sword.

He had swept into Loki's room, uninvited and unannounced, to see a figure standing over his brother's slumbering form, a green tinged knife poised above his chest.

There was no thought. Only action.

One swing and gushing blood, an aborted scream, and Loki startling awake. Thor's new sword was driven deep into the throat of the would-be assassin; his eyes were glazed while his mouth was drawn into a stiff line.

Guards swiftly rushed into the room followed shortly by Odin. He observed the scene before him, the blood covering his sons, the body lying dead, and a knife bleeding treacherous green upon the ground.

He waved his hand over Loki who had weakly stumbled out of his bed over to his brother. A pale golden light swept over him, assuring Odin that there was no damage outside of the illness that afflicted the young prince's form.

He did the same to Thor before moving towards the sickly green knife. A wave of his hand and a giant black serpent appeared over the knife, venom dripping from its large fangs. The image began to fade seconds after it appeared but the ghastly image haunted the periphery of Odin's mind.

The All-Father's eye seemed wearier than they had ever been before. He stepped over to his sons, both of his hands reaching out to brush along their cheeks. He stood in between them, his hands resting on the back of their heads. Gently moving forward he led his children out of the room, down towards where the queen of Asgard awaited with healing magic for body and mind.

Thor had his first apple of Indunn at thirty.

Loki stood to the side of their mother in the orchard of the goddess Idunn, smart grin in place and a wicked gleam in his eyes. The look in their mother's eyes meant that she knew of the mischief that was brewing in the mind of her youngest son.

The All-Father moved over to his golden son, a golden apple cradled in his large calloused hands.

He handed it over to Thor before all of the gathered Aesir, witnesses to their prince's rise to immortality.

Thor grinned at his family before bringing the apple to his mouth and unceremoniously taking a large bite.

And promptly spit it out.

The Aesir surrounding Thor all made noises of shock and horror, the insult of what had just happened reverberating among the room as if someone had just struck a gong.

The apple in his hand shone a florescent green before turning into a pastry that was filled with a dark red sauce.

Thor grinned as he looked over to his brother.

"Typically, I do not mind a meat pie, brother, however it is rather unappetizing when you are expecting something sweet."

Frigga's arm twitched up and smacked Loki on his shoulder in a smooth well-practiced motion.

Loki reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a golden apple before tossing it towards his brother.

Thor reached forward and caught it before again taking a large bite out of the center of the apple.

"Ah! Now this is an apple!"

Frigga watched on, exasperated fondness in her eyes. She glanced over at her husband as the long world-weary sigh escaped him. They met each other's eyes and both rolled towards the brilliant sky above them.

Thor experienced his first war at fifty.

It was not expected to become a war, which was why his father had entrusted the leadership of the scouting party to him. He had, naturally as in all things, taken his brother with him.

They went deep into the center of the world of Nidavellir in order to discuss the current conditions of the Asgardian-Nidavellirian peace treaties. This was a treaty that was implemented long before even Odin All-Seeing was made king of Asgard and Alviss All-Wise. The exchange: weapons and protection.

The disagreement began when a shipment of weapons meant for the Asgardian armory never made it to the carriers. When questioned, the dwarves claimed vehemently that they had sent out the weapons and armor at the designated time to the designated place. Once the weapons left the great forges it was then the responsibility of the Asgardians to protect them along their long journey to Asgard.

Three Asgardian couriers were later be found at the edge of the Nidavellir realm, throats slashed, close enough to see where the Bifrost Bridge would land but far enough away that anyone would not be able to hear a commotion occur.

As such, Thor was sent to investigate in what should have been a simple issue with thieves or bandits. It ended up being much more than that.

A small bandit group turned out to be a conspiracy by some of the high ranking members of Nidavelliran society.

It was a far reaching conspiracy however, that influenced every aspect of Nidavelliran business. There were fingers in the metallurgy, the jewel, the raw precious metal, and the fine weaving guilds.

The idea that Thor had was to bring those that were revolting to the Asgardian courts, after going through the Nidavelliran channels to bring these conspirators to justice.

It did not go as well as Thor had hoped.

It all went completely downhill when Loki went missing. Three quarters of the rebel conspiracy had already been captured when the disappearance was noted.

The instant panic that erupted among the Asgardian party was spectacular in scale to witness. Knowledge about the abduction was limited in scope, which essentially meant that neither Odin nor Frigga was informed.

Heimdall, all seeing and ever guarding, contacted Thor with the location of Loki and a possible means to get to him.

Thus, a beautiful Asgardian noblewoman and her handmaidens came to the land of Nidavellir as an emissary of the All-Father to negotiate the release of Loki.

The dwarf nobles were very soft on the women who came to the negotiation tables. An agreement had been made: the noblewoman's hand and political immunity in exchange for the prince's life. Good headway was being made until one of the handmaid's breasts fell out of the bottom of her dress. The woven materials were commonly made and one of the nearby dwarves picked it up to inspect it.

The charade was officially over.

The noblewoman reached over to a stone table, picked up a hammer that was resting upon it, and swung it at the nearest dwarf.

Thunder crackled along the stroke and the dwarves around the table rushed to flee. It was far too late however. The handmaiden guards rushed to detain the rest of the dwarves and Thor, shedding his dress threw the hammer out and in a rush of lightning and sound it collided with the leader of the Nidavelliran rebellion.

All were taken into custody and the prince was recovered shortly thereafter.

Heimdall, although all seeing and ever guarding, did not have the ability to keep quiet about the young prince's rescue as Thor discovered after seeing the image of his noblewoman persona being courted by two light elves at a political ball.

The first time Thor heard of Jane Foster was a thousand years later.

It took a long time for Loki to reveal to Thor what was so fascinating to him for the last ten years. He probably wouldn't have if Thor had not heard him talking to a hand mirror.

This resulted in weeks of Thor leading conversations towards imaginary friends and acceptance until Loki finally snapped and told him about the fated girl.

The monologue that ensued discussing all of young Jane's qualities and her ambitions took up almost all of the day. That Jane Foster was his destiny and he desired nothing more than to help her become everything and all things that she desires to be.

"Stars?" Was all Thor asked.

"She already has stars echoing throughout her soul, she only wishes to understand the ones that she can see so clearly."

"Well, studying stars is easily done from the observatory. Or with Heimdall. When is she coming?"

It had never occurred to Thor to negate or to argue that a Midgardian mortal would never be accepted into Asgardian society. That having a mortal would tear at the fabric of their family, would cause the nobility to question the sanctity of the rulers, that the small folk may take it as a time to revolt. No, none of this crossed Thor's mind.

Only that this Jane Foster was in his brother's future and that Thor would protect her as much as he protected his brother.


End file.
